Grandfathers mysterious shoulder issue

Posted by umziz @umziz, Jul 4, 2021

Hi all, I'm coming to you with the case of my grandfathers shoulders. He is currently 84 years old and has quite little range of motion in both shoulders alongside excruciating pain, he's hardly able to lift a glass of water. He has gone to multiple doctors about his issues and has gotten varied responses from frozen shoulder and bone spurs (which are visible in the x-rays I will share) to needing complete shoulder replacement on both shoulders since they claim he has no cartilage left in both shoulders. He has done MRI's to get a better picture of the issue, but I don't have the scans on hand unfortunately. I'm attaching all the x-rays/pictures I have of his issue, including a couple of his neck. I would be grateful for any thoughts and advice of his current situation. Thank you.

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Got the same problem. Initially told it is tendinitis. Had the X-rays but Doctors on a “go slow” getting back to me. They don’t have the pain! I can’t have an operation because of scar tissue, so will be interesting what they advise, nearly a month later! Will post.

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@lil1952

Got the same problem. Initially told it is tendinitis. Had the X-rays but Doctors on a “go slow” getting back to me. They don’t have the pain! I can’t have an operation because of scar tissue, so will be interesting what they advise, nearly a month later! Will post.

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Tendonitis is an interesting idea, I don't think they have mentioned that with my grandfather. Although I'm almost certain its present. The strange thing is that they say he has quite bad arthritis in the shoulders, but shoulders are a weird place to get arthritis as its not an impact joint. But hey, I guess anythings possible. Please do update when you hear back! I'd love to hear what they say on a similar case.

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@umziz

Tendonitis is an interesting idea, I don't think they have mentioned that with my grandfather. Although I'm almost certain its present. The strange thing is that they say he has quite bad arthritis in the shoulders, but shoulders are a weird place to get arthritis as its not an impact joint. But hey, I guess anythings possible. Please do update when you hear back! I'd love to hear what they say on a similar case.

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Welcome to Mayo Connect. We are a community of people living with a wide variety of conditions and diseases who share our journeys and try to help one another along the way. We are not medical professionals and don't give medical advice but we share our successes and failures in an effort to help one another live our best lives.

Actually shoulder arthritis, often accompanied by bursitis and bone spurs, is quite common and can be a source of much pain. It occurs after injury or more commonly after years of hard use.

Shoulder replacement requires a lengthy rehab, so any contemplation of surgery must also consider he is willing and able to manage this, either alone or with assistance. Maybe you or another family member can see the doctor with him to get more answers,
Sue

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